Democracy in the EU and the Role of National Parliaments

“The so-called democratic deficit in the European Union (EU) is the result or consequence of differences between the level of integration of the EU on the one hand and democratic qualities of the political system on the other hand. This democratic deficit is reflected, among other things, in the lack of connection between citizens and the institutions and policies of the EU, which is partly explained by the fact that this is an atypical political system, in which the same categories are not applied as they are in the national level. The Lisbon Treaty has significantly strengthened the role of national parliaments, which are linked directly to citizens through the MPs." This observation was proffered at the Scientific Forum EU Policy Dialogues: Democracy in the EU and the Role of National Parliaments, a forum that was held on Friday (21st November) at the Skopje Campus of South East European University. Panelists in this scientific forum were: Doc. Dr. Snezana Vasiljevic from the University of Zagreb, Prof. Dr. Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova from the University of Skopje and Profs. from South East European University: Prof. Dr. Abdullah Azizi, Doc. Dr. Miranda Sabriu-Bexheti and Demush Bajrami, PhD candidate.

On behalf of the organizers spoke: Prof. Dr. Veton Latifi-SEEU Institute "Max van der Stoel", Prof. Dr. Marija Risteska -Center for Research and Policy Making and Sandra Koljaçkova - Konrad Adenauer Foundation.